There is a growing demand for reusable autoinjectors and for a reduction in the amount of materials or components that have to be disposed of. At the same time, safety requirements demand that, after use, the disposable components are in a safe state to reduce the risk of needle stick injuries. There is also a need for a syringe safety shield assembly that can be used either manually where an autoinjector is not available, or in an autoinjector, in each case providing needle stick protection post injection. There are many known arrangements for shrouding the needle on a syringe after a manual injection has been effected. There are also many arrangements for disposable autoinjectors which shroud the needle after use. However, there is a need for a syringe safety shield arrangement which can be used in a number of different applications, including in an autoinjector and in which there is a low number of components.
Although autoinjectors that provide a lock out needle shield for shielding the needle on completion of an injection are known, such devices either are designed as single use disposable autoinjectors, with the consequential environmental impact, or multiple use injectors in which the spent syringe is removed, allowing reuse of the autoinjector, but without shielding of the needle.